A Sontaran in the Stillwood
by Metal Dog
Summary: A lone space traveler makes a horrific discovery on the mysterious planet known as Earth. ........................... Ichor Falls crossover. Ichor Falls, its surroundings, and all related characters are the property of Kris Straub.


**A Sontaran in the Stillwood**

_by Matthew Schoaff_

He was falling out of the sky, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Technically speaking, there was nothing he should_ have _to do. The ship was fully automated. His course was controlled by the fleet computer, the ship's tasks programmed into it before launching from the mothership. There was only a pilot on board because of outdated regulations that required his presence. The war with the Rutan Host had been raging for thousands of years, and the regulation handbook hadn't been updated since before it began.

He fiddled with the communications panel in the dark... nothing. He was already fifteen decisontars late for his mandatory report to his superiors. Another thirty five decisontars, and he would receive two demerits. Enough demerits, and his clone would be deactivated. Lieutenant Gviq valued his life more than the average Sontaran... his clone had turned out slightly taller than normal, but still within regulations. As such, he was prone to fits of self-worth and pride; both emotions were deemed unfitting for a soldier of the Sontaran Star Empire. Gviq wondered if that was why he had been given this scouting mission to one of the least pleasant sections of the galaxy known as Mutter's Spiral. The residents of the planet below him called this galaxy "The Milky Way". That was one of the many trivial items of information that Fleet Command had decided that he needed to know, for the sake of completing his mission. He supposed that it would come in handy, if he were to introduce himself to a human, that he would be able to tell them which galaxy they were currently located within.

The ship continued to fall. A light started flashing, and a beeping sound followed. Well, at least there's something, he thought to himself. He leaned forward in his molded chair to see which light was flashing, and then pressed the button below the light. The cabin lights came back on, and the communication screen let out a squawk as it locked onto scrambled secure channels.

Gviq moistened his lips with his huge, pink tongue as he watched the static on his screen coalesce into a face. It was a hideous face, bald on top, with gigantic, fuzzy eyebrows. Beneath the potato-shaped nose was a thin mustache, and a mouth with black lips and a pulsating pink tongue. There was no neck; the face just seemed to rise out of the shoulders atop a lump of muscular flesh. Gviq recognized the face, of course; every Sontaran had the same face, including Gviq. But Gviq also recognized the rank insignia at the bottom of his screen, and stiffened to attention in his chair.

"Lieutenant Gviq! You are late to report! Report immediately! What is your situation?"

"This is Lieutenant Gviq of the Sontaran Star Empire, clone identification number one, zero zero, six five two three seven four. Reporting from scouting mission to Planet Earth, at galactic coordinates..."

"Just get on with it, Gviq! The Admiral is awaiting your report!" His superior, Commander Weld, looked impatient. "Why have we been unable to contact you for almost twenty decisontars? Are you under attack?"

"My ship was temporarily disabled during orbit number seventeen. Orbits one through sixteen showed no signs of irregularity. All data from the planet is consistent with previous surveys completed. Thirty-seven decisontars after beginning the orbit, all power systems shut down, and orbit immediately decayed. Currently, my ship has restored all power, but it is unable to re-establish orbit at this time. I am in a slowed descent to the planet's surface. It is unknown at this time if my ship has been detected by the primitive radar systems of the natives. Their systems rely upon radio signals bouncing back from solid objects, but the round shape of my craft should deflect 99% of all radio signals."

"This is very bad news, Gviq! If the humans have developed a weapon that can temporarily disable a Sontaran scout ship, then it is possible that they may have more powerful weapons as well. We have received reports from this sector of humans scavenging advanced technology from crashed space vessels. If this is true, the humans may prove to be worthy opponents, after all."

"I certainly hope not, Commander, for the sake of the Empire. This planet must be taken quickly, before the Rutan Host make another attempt to take it for themselves."

"You are in no position to make suggestions regarding our timeline, Lieutenant. That is for the Fleet Admirals to decide: when or even if we will conquer this planet. Your job is to fight, and possibly die, in glorious battle for Sontar!"

"Sontar-HA!" Gviq responded, as he gave the traditional fist-over-the-left-power-inverter salute and shut off his communicator. He remembered from his xenobiological seminar on human anatomy that the left side of the chest was where one would usually find the creature's heart. A mature Sontaran in good health and at full battery power could kill a human with a single blow to this important organ. That was essentially the entire seminar. There was also something about the males of the species keeping the genitals in an exposed and vulnerable location, but he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to differentiate the genders without thorough examinations. The entire concept of separate genders made him cringe; it was such an inefficient method of reproduction. Gviq was hatched on the same day as ten million identical brothers, and sealed into his armor at the tender age of three sontars, just like every other Sontaran in the Universe.

Gviq consulted the screen that showed his position in relation to the planet's surface. He noted that he was descending into a heavily wooded valley, near a settlement. A waterfall nearby shrouded the entire valley in a thick mist. The ship's sensors showed him the location of every living creature within a hundred sontarometers of the projected landing site, and he was pleased to see that all of the lifeform readings were within the settlement. The ship was aiming for the middle of the woods, at least ten sontarometers from the town. He hadn't seen any weapons fire or detected any anomalous energies before losing power, so his personal suspicion was that the ship had simply somehow developed a malfunction. He was hoping for a chance to repair his ship and get back into orbit before being detected by any humans.

The spherical spaceship gently touched ground within a clearing. Gviq did a quick triple-check of all systems; everything read normal. He pulled up the screen that showed him external conditions. Air: breathable, but thin. Radiation count: negligible. Temperature: only three degrees Sontar. Gviq knew that the average temperature on non-equatorial Earth was only about five degrees Sontar (he double-checked his mission notes and saw that it was 4.9) so the night air was even colder. He adjusted the environmental controls on his armor, put on his helmet, and pressed the control that operated the hatch.

Gviq strode out into the dark, and flipped the tongue-switch that turned on a lamp in the chest of his armor. With a hand-held scanner he verified that no lifeforms were in the vicinity.

Hmmm, he thought to himself. _No_ lifeforms? None, at all? His files had told him that Earth was teeming with life. He adjusted the unit to scan for plant life; still nothing. It seemed illogical, as he was surrounded by trees. Gviq walked towards the nearest tree and broke off a small piece. He held the twig directly in front of the scanner and told the unit to analyze the sample.

Analysis: inorganic material, silicate in nature. The unit offered the explanation that after wood has rotted for approximately a hundred Sontaran years, its organic materials will be replaced entirely by silicates such as quartz. However, the unit also noted that such a process usually takes place underground. A standing tree that becomes petrified is an anomaly, and as such must be investigated. If the humans possessed a weapon that could cause this effect in living organic material, the Sontaran Empire must have it.

Gviq placed the twig in a small, plastic container for later analysis. He adjusted the scanner to look for quartz, and it rewarded him with a full map of the petrified forest. He studied the local geography on the tiny screen. Twenty-five sontarometers to the West, there was a large structure, with multiple lifeforms inside. The majority of the humans were apparently asleep, but a few were awake and moving around. It was definitely not a military installation. Gviq speculated that perhaps it was an education complex, or a breeding facility, or a prison, because the humans seemed to be paired off and placed in individual cells. Gviq noted that the structure was well-fortified, and would therefore serve as an excellent base of operations, should he be forced to remain on this planet for any extended period of time.

To the East, another large structure, but with less fortification and no humans. Gviq remembered that humans were primarily a diurnal species, so it was more likely that this building was the education complex. Beyond the school, he detected a number of smaller buildings, each of which contained several lifeforms. His scanner seemed unable to verify that all of the lifeforms were human. Stranger still, it was unable to identify the lifeforms. With a longer-range scan, he viewed the entire settlement. More anomalous lifeform readings, interspersed with human readings. Gviq bounded back to his ship, almost enjoying the low gravity and the speed it allowed him. Once inside, he quickly uploaded his findings into the ship's computer, and prepared himself to make his report. With ten microsontars left before it was time to make contact, he remembered the twig. He placed the plastic container into the slot on the analyzer, activated the unit, and turned towards the communication screen just as it started to glow.

"This is Lieutenant Gviq of the Sontaran Star Empire, clone identification number one, zero zero, six five two three seven four. Reporting from scouting mission to Planet Earth."

"Lieutenant Gviq, report!" his commander responded.

"Have landed on planet surface. Local vegetative forms show signs of petrification. Non-human lifeforms detected. Advise!"

"Upload all information immediately!"

Gviq touched the control that would send his entire ship's log to his commander. He knew, however, that if his own equipment couldn't identify the non-human life, that no other Sontaran would be able to, either. He patiently waited for the response that he knew he would receive: capture or kill one of the non-humans.

"Gviq! You are instructed to obtain a sample of this non-human life! It is unknown to Sontaran science and must be analyzed!" Exactly as he had expected.

"I understand, and obey! Sontar-HA!" Gviq saluted, and deactivated the communicator. Behind him, the analyzer started beeping. He spun in his chair, and observed the readings on the machine. Quartz, with traces of 1-phenyl-2-4 tricarbethyloxinate-5. Interesting.

He knew the implications of finding an unknown lifeform on this planet. A new enemy, obviously powerful. Sontaran science was aware of every lifeform in the twelve galaxies the Empire spanned. Any new lifeform, therefore, must have traveled from beyond the local group of galaxies. Any race with the ability to travel faster than light was a potential adversary. If they had traveled that far, however, they must be capable of exceeding even the speeds attainable within hyperspace.

Of course, another possibility was that a new lifeform had evolved that did not match any previously known lifeform on the planet. Although Gviq knew that this was highly unlikely, it was not unheard-of. On the planet Skaro, centuries of warfare had poisoned the environment to the point that the local humanoids had started mutating at an accelerated rate. The result was the emergence of a new, engineered race, completely unique in the structure of its DNA, which would mutate no further but which was completely dependent upon machinery to keep it alive. The first encounter between a Sontaran Battle Fleet and just one of these highly-armored creatures had resulted in the almost total destruction of the fleet. Gviq did not want a repeat of this disaster to occur. If it was a new species, then it was vital that the new species be identified and, if necessary, eliminated.

Gviq had a thought: the Daleks of Skaro were genetically engineered by a scientist. Perhaps, if the new species was unknown to Sontaran science, then maybe it was known to Earth science. Gviq checked his information file on Earth, and configured his communications array to access the simple network of computers that the humans called "internet."

After a short time, he figured out how to access a global positioning satellite and identify his surroundings. The forest was appropriately named The Stillwood. The structure to the West was, indeed, a prison. The settlement to the East was known locally as Ichor Falls. Gviq was able to find copious amounts of information about the settlement, and its history. The traces of 1-phenyl-2-4 tricarbethyloxinate-5 he had detected were the result of chemical pollution in previous decades. The chemicals were suspected to have caused mutations in some humans. Local residents had complained about unexplained acts of violence, and of strange people behaving in an unusual manner. It was possible that the humans did not realize the extent of the mutation.

During his leadership training, he had been tasked with finding a solution to the Dalek problem. Struck with the curse of hubris, he had decided to come up with an original idea. His plan was to develop time travel, and go back to a time before the Daleks had developed their armored war machines. He hadn't realized that original ideas were counter-indicated, and that his decision had cost him any chance of progressing beyond Lieutenant. He had been expected to come up with the same solution as Sontaran High Command, that an equally powerful, but normally benign race should be manouvered into war with the Daleks. This is, of course, what ultimately happened, but Gviq liked to think that his own original thought on the matter had helped the High Command decide which race. They decided to push the Time Lords of Gallifrey into battle with the Daleks. The result was the Great Time War, the largest conflict in the history of this galaxy. The initiative was completely successful, of course, destroying both the troublesome Time Lords and the Daleks. Only a few, scattered sightings of either race had been reported since then.

Here, on Earth, Gviq saw an opportunity. If, as he assumed, the new lifeforms represented a future menace to the Sontaran Star Empire, then he had the chance to eliminate them here and now, before the creatures became truly dangerous. He smiled to himself. There are only a few things in this Universe more frightening than a smiling Sontaran, he reflected. Gviq could count them on his three-fingered hand. An attacking Rutan. A fully-functional Dalek with instructions to Exterminate. A Time Lord in a bad mood.

Gviq turned off the monitor on the communicator. It was almost time to make his report, but he wanted to compose his thoughts before transmission commenced. Should he convey his suspicions to his commander? Or should he leave the ship and make his report from the field, so as to look busy? Gviq did not want to admit that he had spent the entire time between reports on the internet. He stood up from his chair and turned towards the open hatch.

If Gviq had a fourth finger on his hand, he could count a new thing that he found frightening. The creature that stood before him in the hatchway looked like a human, at first glance, wearing a filthy, hooded cloak. At second glance, however, he could tell that it was definitely _not_ a human. Hands that looked like bundles of sticks emerged from beneath the cloak, and it reached towards the Sontaran with a hideous shriek. Gviq raised his weapon and fired. The blast of supercharged neutrinos stunned the mutant briefly, but it kept coming. Gviq fired his weapon again, but missed as the monstrosity closed the gap between them. As the twiggy claws scraped against his helmet, he could see more of the creatures entering the ship.

---

"Gviq! Report!"

---

"Gviq! You are late with your report! Respond immediately!"

---

"Lieutenant Gviq, this is your commanding officer! Respond immediately or face demerit!" Commander Weld pounded on his communications screen in frustration. All he was receiving was static; Gviq's scout ship had acknowledged the signal, but Gviq was not transmitting. Gviq's portable communicator did not respond at all.

Weld reached towards his controls, intending to cut transmission, but stopped when the monitor suddenly became clear of static. On the screen, he could see the empty chair where Gviq should have been sitting.

"Gviq! Are you there? Respond!" Something dark covered the screen, and seemed to suck all of the light out of Weld's command ship. He suddenly felt very alone, although he knew that was ridiculous. "Gviq! Is that you? Respond! _Respond_!"

Two eyes appeared out of the darkness, in the middle of the screen, staring at him. Weld's mustache stood on end, which was the Sontaran equivalent of what humans call "goosebumps." However, that was only the beginning of his fear. The real terror began when he saw the mouth.

---

In the early hours of an autumn morning, Mayor Newell Barrett sipped a cup of coffee in his heated, enclosed back porch. He had chosen this plot of land specifically for this view. Once, when he was a kid, he had a strange dream. The Devil took him to the top of a mountain. He pointed to the valley below and told him, "this is one of my Kingdoms on Earth. Behold, for one day, it shall be ruled by _you_." Newell remembered that dream well. The very next day, his boy scout troop climbed to the top of St. Denis' Crown, and looked down into the Ichor Falls valley below. It was precisely what he had seen in his dream. Years later, after becoming Mayor, he had sought out a property with a similar view.

He was a bit isolated, up here in Oneiros, but he could see almost all of Ichor Falls from here. Eight thousand people... all of whom would re-elect him at the drop of a hat. Well, the ones who actually voted, anyways. Sometimes, on the rare occasions that the fog lifted a little, he could make out God's Wound Lake in the distance. Not today, though; it was still too early to see very much. Just the lights of the town, blazing through the mist. Over to the west, one light seemed brighter than usual. He thought it was the big security light behind the high school (the one that cost the city umpteen thousand dollars a year to keep lit, but nobody would ever even _discuss_ the possibility of turning it off for even one night) but at second glance he realized that the light was coming from the Stillwood.

As he watched, the light suddenly shot into the sky. He blinked, twice, and took another sip of his coffee. He decided that it didn't have enough bourbon in it.

--- The End ?---

_Disclaimer: Ichor Falls, and its residents, are the property of Kris Straub. Daleks, and Skaro, are the property of the Terry Nation Estate. All other fictional alien races associated with Doctor Who are the property of the BBC. I make no claims of original creation in this work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, extraterrestrial races, or mutated creatures, living or dead, is purely coincidental. _


End file.
